Young driver lost control of his GT3 and plunged into the Limmat river in Switzerland
June 4, 2024 at 13:50
- Driver of a Porsche 911 GT3 lost control and skidded into the Limmat river in Switzerland.
- Local news reports say the driver was 23, and his passenger only 17.
- This is the latest in a string of watery 911 accidents.
What is it about Porsche 911s and water? Barely a week goes by these days without us covering an accident involving a rear-engined Porsche’s desperate attempts to replicate the feats of their WWII-era Schwimmwagen ancestors, and this latest incident isn’t the first to star a GT3.
Footage and images from the scene show a 992-generation 911 partially submerged in the Limmat river in Switzerland, and rescue crews’ attempts to extract it without causing further damage.
Related: Another Porsche Takes A Swim! This Time A 911 Cabrio In A Canal
It’s hard to look at the straps wrapped around the stick-thin spokes of the forged alloy wheels without wincing as the crane hauls the stricken GT3 from the water, though they seem to do a good job of getting it back on dry land intact.
Sadly, as the water gushing from the interior confirms, the repair bill is already going to be big, if the insurance company even decides to sanction a repair.
Local news reports say the unnamed driver was just 23 and his passenger only 17, and that they were traveling north east along the Chlosterstrasse, a small road that briefly runs parallel to the river. Swiss website Nau.ch, which has a video of the extraction, says the driver lost control shortly after a left turn, and we can see from the skid marks that car slid backwards into the river.
Photo Ecletica Sol/Zerin Dube
Judging from the section of Google map shown below, it looks like the driver lost the back end on the left-hand curve exiting onto the straight section next to the river, and slipped into the water as if he was trying to recreate James Bond’s famous Lotus Esprit beach scene in reverse.
We don’t know whether the road was dry or greasy, whether the traction control was on or off, or how much experience the driver had pushing 503 hp (510 PS) rear-engined sports to the limit. But we do know that this probably won’t be the last time we see a 911 take a bath this year.
Today’s installment of happy scenes in nature pic.twitter.com/Cz0Rb0mNoz
— Zerin Dube (@SpeedSportLife) June 3, 2024
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